Metso, a Finnish supplier of sustainable technology and services for the mining, construction, power generation industries, and Wartsila, a supplier of power plants and solutions, have completed the transaction of combining Metso's Heat & Power business and Wartsila's Biopower business into a joint venture, MW Power.
According to Metso, it owns 60% and Wartsila owns 40% of MW Power. Order backlog of approximately E115 million was transferred with Wartsila Biopower to the joint venture. It is estimated that the consolidated annual pro forma net sales of the new company will be approximately E130 million in 2008, and the number of employees over 200.
Metso said that MW Power is expected to be one of Europe’s leading providers of medium and small-scale power and heating plants with a focus on renewable fuel services.
The technologies of the two companies are reported to be complementary. Metso’s fluidized bed combustion technology and Wartsila’s grate technology enable a solutions portfolio for a wide range of fuels in power and heating plants.
Metso and Wartsila announced in September 2008 that they had signed a contract to form a joint venture. The companies received the regulatory approvals to close the joint venture from the European Commission in November 2008.